The West Texas Food Bank received the seal of approval Tuesday from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for its work in developing partnerships inside the community to reduce food insecurity and poverty.

Cornyn was in Midland and stopped by the food bank’s Midland facility to learn more about its “innovative partnerships with local entities to address hunger and poverty in the Permian Basin.”

Cornyn saluted the hard work of Executive Director Libby Campbell, its employees and volunteers -- such as Trinity School students who were assisting during the senator’s visit. He said the West Texas Food Bank had developed the “secret sauce” in making the right type of partnerships work.

Cornyn also was in Midland to bring more attention to the “Partnerships to Prevent Poverty Act.”

According to the Cornyn’s staff, the act:

- encourages public-private partnerships between federal and state agencies and nonprofits to reduce hunger and fight poverty;

- promotes the West Texas Food Bank’s approach of focusing on individuals’ comprehensive needs; and

- expands the successful Texas model, facilitated by the Texas Hunger Initiative, which has brought together more than 1,400 community-based organizations, including schools, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, businesses and other partners to build the capacity of communities to address food insecurity and poverty.

Food insecurity and poverty are challenges that Cornyn said exceeds the capabilities of any single agency or private firm. He cited a 2016-17 Gallup study that found 67 percent of lower-income adults worry “a great deal” about hunger and homelessness, up from 51 percent in 2010-11.

Reasons for food insecurity, according to officials at the roundtable discussion that Cornyn participated in, include economic instability, high housing costs, high child care costs, divorce and other single-parent situations.

Legislation, according to Cornyn’s office, strengthens the Food and Nutrition Act by creating a five-year pilot program to help states and communities expand partnerships to improve delivery of federal welfare programs such as SNAP.

“(This legislation) would better target existing federal spending so that individuals and families who are in need get better assistance at lower costs to the taxpayer,” according to Cornyn’s office.

One Midland man who shared his story was Raynaldo Villa, who used programs offered by the West Texas Food Bank not just for food assistance but to find the right type of food, including fruits and vegetables, that helped him lose more than 100 pounds.

He said he keeps his pants from when he weighed 420 pounds as a reminder that people can be obese and “out of touch” with who they really are. The one-time oil field worker said he now has more confidence in himself and if not for fruits and vegetables, he couldn’t do what he wanted to do.

Cornyn on:

- The Senate -- which provided President Trump his greatest victory yet: the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch -- taking a greater role on major issues such as tax reform and health care.

“The executive branch and Congress are co-equal branches of government and we know neither one can be successful without working together. ... We will see more policy initiatives coming from Congress helping the president follow through on the promises he’s made on border security, to more of an emphasis he’s made on American-made products and cutting trade deals that don’t disadvantage the United States but create a level playing field.”

- Does that leadership require the Senate to take the lead?

“You have great leaders like Paul Ryan in the House and those of us in the Senate with a common goal in mind -- that is, help the people we work for -- the American people -- live more safely and securely and have an economy that allows everyone to pursue the American dream.”